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Duane Betts (born April 16, 1978) is an American guitarist and singer-songwriter. He has performed as a member of several bands, including Backbone69, Whitestarr, Dickey Betts and Great Southern, Brethren of the Coast, Dawes, and Jamtown. Currently, Betts leads his solo group, Duane Betts and the Pistoleers, and is a guitarist in his father’s group, Dickey Betts and his Band.

Personal Life
Born Forrest Duane Betts (April 16, 1978) in Sarasota, Florida, Betts is the only son of The Allman Brothers Band guitarist and singer-songwriter Dickey Betts and then-wife, Paulette Howell (nee Eghiazarian). Currently, Betts resides in Malibu, California.

Early career: The Allman Brothers Band, Backbone69, Whitestarr
Betts learned to play drums as a youth, then switched to guitar at age 12. At 16, he appeared onstage as a guest with The Allman Brothers Band, sitting-in for the first time with the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees on June 24, 1994 at the in Vail, Colorado.

In 1998, Betts joined Backbone69, a roots-rock band that also featured drummer Alex Orbison, son of Roy Orbison, Berry Oakley Jr., son of the original Allman Brothers' bassist Berry Oakley, and lead singer Chris Williams, son of successful blues-rock singer-songwriter Jerry Lynn Williams. The group recorded its self-titled debut in 1999 at Ocean Way Nashville Recording Studios, working with producer Bobby Blazier. It was released on ORBY Records. The death of Williams in 2001 disbanded the group.

Betts and Orbison regrouped in a band called Whitestarr (2002-2005), with singer Cisco Adler, son of famed producer Lou Adler, that was signed by Atlantic Records (and later dropped), toured with Kid Rock, and appeared at the 2004 Coachella Festival.

Dickey Betts and Great Southern, Brethren of the Coast
In 2005, his father, Dickey, asked Betts to join his reconstituted band, Great Southern, formed in the wake of Dickey’s parting with The Allman Brothers Band in 2000. Betts toured both nationally and internationally with the group, appearing on the CD/DVD Dickey Betts & Great Southern: Rockpalast 30 Years of Southern Rock 1978-2008.

For his first foray into writing and singing original material, Betts formed Brethren of the Coast in 2014. The group included Great Southern bassist Pedro Arevalo on guitar and Betts’ former Whitestarr mate Damon Webb on bass, and was featured as the opening artist on what was at the time Dickey’s final tour before retiring.

Dawes; Jamtown
Betts officially became a member of folk-rockers Dawes’ touring band in May of 2015. Though he did not take part in the recording sessions that led to the group’s 2015 album, All Your Favorite Bands, he performed with the band across the world for the entire touring cycle of the record, including appearances on The Late Show with David Letterman, the Bonnaroo Festival, and Lollapalooza Berlin.

Dawes founder, guitarist, and singer-songwriter Taylor Goldsmith said of Betts,”… he’s incredibly musical, but he’s also very, very tasteful. He plays very fluidly and very melodically and very expressively, and even when you watch him play, he’s got this look on his face, like holding his breath almost, and he’s singing this line for you through his guitar. The places he gets into with his guitar, it’s truly compelling, because it really feels like a guy singing and speaking in a way that a great soul singer might or something.”

Reuniting with Adler, Betts joined Jamtown, a super-group featuring Donovan Frankenreiter, G. Love, and Cody Dickinson of the North Mississippi All-Stars. The band released its debut, self-titled EP in the summer of 2017, then undertook a short Western U.S. tour, playing several festivals, including the Malibu Guitar Festival in May, and Monterey Pop 50th and Arroyo Secco Weekend in June, plus two dates supporting Jack Johnson in July, in Denver, Colorado and at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles, California.

Solo career: Duane Betts and the Pistoleers, Bando
In 2017, Betts formed Duane Betts and the Pistoleers as a quartet performing his solo repertoire and covers of blues and rock classics and featuring guitarist Johnny Stachela. The two teamed with Gov’t Mule’s drummer, Matt Abts, and bassist, Jorgen Carlsson, for a one-off July performance in Santa Monica, California as Bando.

With the Devon Allman Project
A December 8, 2017 appearance at The Fillmore in San Francisco celebrating the late Gregg Allman’s 70th birthday coincided with the announcement of a 2018 World Tour with Betts as a supporting artist and guest of the Devon Allman Project. The Fillmore concert featured dozens of special guests, including Robert Randolph, Samantha Fish, Luther and Cody Dickinson, Jimmy Hall, and G. Love.

Sketches of American Music
Betts released his debut EP, Sketches of American Music, on April 26, 2018 along with a video, directed by Austin Lynch, of the record’s first single, “Taking Time.”

The six-song set, with sessions produced by Steve Cropper (Booker T. & The M.G.’s) and Marc Ford (Black Crowes), and executive produced by Betts, contains five originals co-written by Betts and noted songwriter Stoll Vaughan, as well as a cover of Dickey Betts’ “California Blues.”

Dickey Betts and his Band
Dickey Betts announced his return from retirement in December of 2017. On May 17, 2018 he officially debuted his new band, with Duane Betts returning on guitar, at a concert in Macon, Georgia, with East Coast tour dates announced for July and August.

Discography (selected)

 * Backbone69 (1999)
 * Dickey Betts & Great Southern: Rockpalast 30 Years of Southern Rock 1978-2008 (2008)
 * Jamtown (2017)
 * Duane Betts:  Sketches of American Music (2018)